Whatever her family circumstances, Julie is now upper-middle class. Therefore, it is in her interest to insist that it is natural for educated people to earn so much more than most workers and that working class people must get an education to have a fulfilling life. What about protecting an Australia where blue collar occupations are well paid? The ALP was formed to ensure that workers got their share. If workers need to stop being workers to get ahead, the ALP has failed.

"That is why it angers me when talent is wasted and power or privilege are misused."

Don't look in the mirror Julia. Your government is doing a fine job of deceit and obsfucation.
Where is the open and free flow of information that was promised. Your government is every bit as tight fisted with the freedom of information exchange as any previous government you want to criticize.
Where are all the promised programs that were going to fix all the hospitals and infrastructure?
- fibre to the home is an uncosted, indeterminate, hugely expensive program for an unknown number of potential end users
- time has already gone by for the promised take over of the hospitals and all the gov't is doing is one more study
- many of our major highways are a shambles and unable to carry current traffic, is there any relief in sight?
- our mass transit is geared to a 1970's level of usage and is sadly unable to cope with today's needs

Sadly, Julia, your government does not appear to be any better than the broken promises and bald lies of the NSW labor gov't under Carr. But the unions (representing a minority of the voters) have benefited as have the illegal immigrant smugglers (bringing in future labor voters?)

What about the majority of Australians who have seen little of the promises? They are being ignored through the misuse of government power and privilege.

There are a few things that jump out at me after reading this piece and juxtaposing it with what actually happens in the real world.

It is in Julia's career interest to give herself a good cover story - what better than the daughter of a struggling Welsh family and a dinki-di Labor supporter to boot. It is the way political leaders are going - Rudd did it with the story of his family being thrown off a property, Latham did it with his portrayal of his upbringing in Western Sydney, John Brogden did it via the story of his abusive father and Malcolm's done it with his own family's poignant, personal circumstances. This is designed as a means to get the public to believe that pollies are really one of them. And there's no shortage of journalists that will sympathetically - and sometimes obsequiously - write up their stories. But are pollies the real deal? Or do they really believe what they say but fail at the implementation hurdle? There’s no way of knowing before they are put to the test. What I would really like to have, is an insight into what Gillard is actually *doing* behind the scenes, not what is driving her (for all we know it might only be her Comcar chauffer).

Benk makes a good point that leads me to say that the way Labor thinks about its "light on the hill" is wrong. It's clear from straight economics that you can't afford to pay the bulk of workers great salaries without losing other vital competitive elements in the system. Keating was probably right when he said people need to occupy jobs higher in the productivity food chain to be better off. But, of course, too many workers can't migrate across without the same wage fate befalling them and without Australia becoming reliant on manufacturing exports. So, there will always be the blue collar workers that are needed and they, in turn, need to be looked after by the ALP.

Gee, the Howard & Conservative bashers are rather conspicuous in their absence thus far.

Bruce,
"That is why it angers me when talent is wasted and power or privilege are misused."
I feel the same & my words are;
This is what angers me when talent is persecuted & incompetence is fostered in the wasteful australian Public Service & corruption is the order of the day. Yes it happens in other countries too but they have the extra burden of millions of more people to control. And here we hear people raving on about increasing the population. Can't even handle 22 mills for crying out loud.
Does anybody know what the Law Reform Commission does all day long & why even the Ombudsman's office, the CMC & the CJC put you from one person to another until a year has passed & the Statute of Limitation cuts in. Convenient wouldn't you say ?
I only hope the authorities grow bigger family jewels before those who have had enough are tempted to act.

Please PLEASE, Julia, spare us any more of the empty rhetoric about Australian values and fairness! There is no set of Australian values that we all embrace, though "pull the ladder up" is widely subscribed to.
From what I've seen so far, yours is anything but a reforming government; and if you were honest you'd admit that genuine, and desperately needed, reform is hamstrung rather than facilitated by the "social democracy" you pretend to cherish. Australia is very far from being a social democracy worthy of the name! Rather, the electorate takes its cues and momentum from the ruling middle class--as well as from the obfuscation and propaganda it generates to keep its conservative agenda firmly at the centre of political ideology.

Finally, if education really is your inspiration and you believe in Labor values, address the issue of religious infiltration in our state schools. It will be one hundred years next year since secularism was abolished in Queensland schools! I have four kids in primary school and I can tell you, from first hand experience, that Queensland State schools are inundated with fundamentalist Christians, who are infiltrating and proselytising via the chaplaincy programme as well as "Shine" and "Strength", and via any insidious means at their disposal.
Start your reforms by making Queensland a secular state!